Improvement in steam-generators



NITED STATES" PATENT Fries.

ALEXANDER B. LATTA, oE CINCINNATI, onto.

IM P'ovMEN'f l |"N STEAM-c. EN ERAToRs.

speeincatinfermnig' parfof Letters Patent No. 12,682, dated April 1o, 1855.

To a/ZZ whom t mayconcert:

Be it known thatI, ALEXANDER BLATTA, of Cincinnati, in the county of Hamiltonfand State of Ohio, haveinvented a new and useful Improvement whichVI denominate an- Instantaneous Tubular `Steam-Generator,which is described as follows', reference being had to the annexeddrawings of the same, making part of this specification.

Figure 3 is ground plan, AA A A representing the coil or continuons pipe, showing the manner in which it is formed'. Y The U-loandsI or crooked pipes B B at each end are` cast of malleable iron. The straight pipe is wroughtiron, similar to gas-tubes. It will be seen there is two separate coilsin this plan. The ends C C turn down and connect immediately with the upper part of the water-jacket,l

which is the steam-chamber.

valve. will be described hereinafter. `ld" F are" the P is the safetylower ends of the coil coming through the wa ter-jacket and connecting with'the pumps of' the pumping-engineGG, whicharemadein the form of a force-pump. j These lpumps receive their Water from an open vessel Hgwhich ves-v selis supplied with water from the reservoir* for that purpose. The pipe and cocky I, over the vessel, are used to regulate the quantity of water as it goesl into` `the pumps; These3 pumps are worked by the oscillating cylinder; J, which is geared to a large cog-wheel` IK, inI

which is inserted a Wrist or crank pin-1L, which? from an open vessel, so as `to enablefthe'engineer to see the'waterA as it is goingiin.` Anyf arrangement thatwoul'd givernotion to'` some mechanical device that would enable the engineer to determine the quantity aswell as the factwthat the Water was going in would? answer. J ust Wherethe coil turns into the` water-j acket or steam-chamber there are-gageanT should pass.

E is the b ox or waterkjacket, which Apurpose if combined with awater-jacket. :operating on this principle, as has been shown, `I find the best Way of forming coils is to `commence with one coil in the bottom, and after ascending some little distance then divide into two,.then ascend a little farther, and .then subdivide into four, and so on,keep subdividing, using the same size of pipe all the way. :admit the quantity of water desired to be generated. By this means the coil at the lootcocks N N inserted, by which the engineer ascertains whether or not the water is all oonverted into steam. These are located at the turn in the coil, so as to catch the water if `The U'bands B B havea projection on the 4top side, through which there is a bolt passed and screwed into the Water-jacket. By this means the coil is secured in its place, each separately. This is important to securethe coil, so as not to allow it to move, at the same time to have 4such fastenings as will not burn off from excessive heat. The projection, being on the top side, is protected from the tire, and being cast to the bands it cannot get any hotter than the coil itself.

Fig. 4 represents a View of the back side of the boiler, showing the tire-box with the Water-jacket broken off, so as the end of the coil may be seen, showing the ends of the U-bands `as they are alternately connected.` It will be seen that these coils are divided all the way. up ythe center. This I sometimes `do when there is a large quantity of steam to be generated in one boiler. It is done for. the purpose of shortening the length of coil, whichis ,desirable to such diversity of turns through which the steam has to pass, which makes the friction very great.. These coils are increased -inside as they ascend. This is nothing new, vas it has been done before.

Any ofthe usual modes of. forming coils will answer a good In The pipe should be no larger than will tom or nearest the fire is kept full of Water. It will be seen by this dividing principle that the greatest increase of capacity, the shortest distance, the smallest pipe, and the least friction'is arrived at. These are all very desirable in this kind of boilers;but not confining Vmyself to any peculiar form of coil I proceed to describe the other parts of the boiler.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the external or water jacket. vThe recess at A iswhere it rests on the framework. The sloping lineB inside is where the outer sheet comes into the inner one, or where the steam-chamber stops. The inside sheet runs up to the top in the fireengine. The weight; is some object, for this reason: the steam-chamber is stopped before it reaches the top. The front side C is wider between from Aup. This is done to make steam-room. The water in this water-jacket is carried up to the gage-cock D. This jacket is a part and portieri of this boiler, asit generates steam to some extent, but it is not of any avail in the fire-engine until the engine has been workin g some little time. I therefore use sufficient coil to generate steam enough without relying on the water-jacket, because it is not available for the first twenty minutes. The water-jacket is stay-bolted in the usual way of securing flat surfaces.

Fig. l is a front view of water-jacket, ex-

ternal, showing the coil coming out at the top,

turning down into steanrchalnber. Near the top are the gage-cocksN N, of which has been spoken. In the center are the safety-valves D, out of which the steam escapes when an excess is generated. Down below the steamchamber are two circles or holes. E E are two tubes sufficiently large to allow the coil F F to pass through the water-jacket, which tubes are made tight in and out, so as to allow the coil to pass through without having any connection with it. The smoke-pipe at the top is broken off, which is nearly a straight chimney. The round rods at the bottom represent grate-bars for the support of the fuel, which may be of any kind. It matters not what. This boiler operates without using the exhaust-steam. A draft is produced by placing the tubes sufficiently far apart to give the desired capacity to insure a draft, even in a short length of pipe or chimney, as is used in common locomotives.

For locomotives this boiler is better adapted than any known at present, and for land-carriages of every description. N o man who has operated coiled boilers of any description has heretofore brought any of them into practical use. All of them have been deficient in some of the main features which are necessary to have a successful boiler. The English, who have had considerable experience with coiled boilers, seem to have been desirous of keeping the coil entirely full of waterallthe time. It is not possible, because the steam, as they state, generates behind the water and blows it out. This is the case, and it is impossible to operate a coil if it is full of water. Hence the necessity of having some means of regulating the water as it goes in, which means must. be so arranged as to be under the control of the engineer; also, the gage-cocks N N at or near the top of the coil are to enable him to determine when a sufficient quantity is going in and when there is a deficiency. These gagecocks at the top of the coil might be inserted in -two or three places along up the coil at various points. The gage-cocks in the water-jackets G G might be used to determine when an excess is coming over by the water rising in it. It would be equivalent to using the gages in the coil itself, but not so certain or prompt. There have been some attempts to use a coil in a water-jacket by attaching the coil at the lower end and the upper end to attach to the steam-chamber. Supposing the water Would supply the coil of its own grav ity, this is absurd, because it requires double the pressure to pump water into the coil as the pressure in the steam-chamber or waterjacket. This renders it impossible to operate to any advantage in this way.

The mode of operation is as follows: In the {ire-engine or locomotive that in the waterjacket should be up to the cocks in front. There should be no water in the coil. The furnace being full of dry kindlings, so that it will make a quick fire, the iireis then lighted. After two or three minutes the lire burns briskly, and the connection in the puinp-lever is detached. The engineer then works the hand-pump by hand andinjects water into the coil, which has by this time become hot enough to generate steam. As soon as sufficient steam has been generated to ll the steam-chambers the pumping-engine is then set to work and The engine the coil would burn before the engine could be started. It is absolutely necessary to have some means to start wit-h. The reason for starting the fire-engine without any water in the coil is that it enables me to raise steam much sooner than it would if the coil was full of water. All the coil would have to be heated, which would take some time. In the locomotive-engine this instantaneous mode of raising steam, in cases of accident a dispatch would scarcely be read before the engine would be on her way to the scene of accident. It wouldoertainlypreventlongdelays. Another feature in this boiler is that by running the water short any degree of elasticity can be given the steam without increasing the pressure; or, in other words, the steam will become surcharged with caloric. My experience shows that more economy can be had by this system of generating steam than any I have ever tried. The steam fire-engine has beenin use one year and has proved itself beyond a doubt anew and usefulresult. The above describes the means by which it has been accomplished.

I wish it understood that it is not the intention to heat the coil red-hot and then inject water. I only allow the coil to get sufficiently hot to generate steam. This course is pursued because it saves time, which is an object in the fire-engine. It is necessarytoA get to work as soon as possible. lf any great quantity of water were to be heated to boilingpoint, it would require some length of time to raise steam. It must be remembered lin operating this boiler the engineer must not leave his engine while in operation, because in case A of any failure in the doctor to pumpthe coil might burn if the fire should continue toburn any length of time without Water.

This boiler does not carry any great quantity of water on hand. This renders it peculiarly adapted to steam tire-engines, locomotives, land-carriages, duc. The water in common boilers Weighs as much and in some instances more than the boiler itself. This renders itdificult to carry any great amount of power in a Iandcarriage on the old plan,

besides the water-level is difficult to keep4 right. In this boiler these diliiculties are 'eradicated entirely. In many cases for sta- 1. Combining a steam generator or boiler consisting of a coil of tube with a furnace in such'a manner that the iame or products of combustion shall come in immediate contact with said coil when this coil is combined with a feed apparatus and gages, which Will enable the engineer to inspect constantly the supply of water, see that it is not interrupted, test its sufficiency, and regnlateit at pleasure according to the varying demands of the boiler, or close the dampers if the feed should be interrupted, substantially as described.

2. While confining the admission of Water to the receiving end of a coiled-tube boiler, limiting the quantity therein and the supply thereof tothe quantity demanded for immediate conversion into steam for the purpose of avoiding the weight of a large quantity of water, producing steam promptly, saving fuel, and preventing the Water from being thrown out of the tube by the steam formedy in the lower part thereof, snbstan tially as described.

3. Causing the discharging end of a coiledtube generator to communicate with and discharge itself into the water-jacket, While all other communication of said coil with said Water-jacket is avoided, as described.

A. B. LATTA.

Witnesses:

W. CHIDSEY, Jos. SERoDINo. 

